Government-Assisted Housing in the Northwest Territories and the Role of the Federal Government

1. Public Launch Yellowknife City Hall Nov 24, 2011 By: Nick Falvo Government-Assisted Housing in the Northwest Territories and the Role of the Federal Government

2. Project Origins • Arlene Haché • SERNNoCa • Dr. Frances Abele

3. Consultations • Coalition Meetings • Alternatives North Meetings • Rotary Club: Feb 2010 • Multiple sets of interviews • Public Launch of Homelessness Report in May 2011

4. Community Visits • Lutsel K’e • Rae • Dettah

5. What Does This Report Do? • Synthesizes local knowledge • Contrasts and compares • Highlights policy challenges

6. Topics Covered Administration of Housing in NWT Uniqueness vis-a-vis Rest of Canada Building Costs Recent Policy Initiatives

7. Geopolitical Factors • Oil and Natural Gas • Rising Temperatures • Longer Navigation Season • Northwest Passage • Denmark, Russia

8. Historical Factors • Relocation by Federal Government • Housing Used as Incentive • “Money Trap” • Subject of Future Research

9. Housing Conditions Indicators suggest that: • Housing in Yellowknife is a bit worse than the rest of Canada • Housing in NWT’s small communities is much worse than the rest of Canada

10. Housing Conditions (cont’d) Households Who Report Living in “Crowded Conditions” • Canada 2% • Yellowknife 3% • Rural NWT 8%

11. Housing Conditions (cont’d) Households Who Report Living in Units Requiring Major Repairs • Canada 8% • Yellowknife 10% • Rural NWT 22%

12. Ongoing Need • 400 households on waiting lists for public housing throughout NWT

13. Building Costs • $150/ft² in Hay River, Fort Smith • $300/ft² on the Arctic Coast • Typical units built by Housing Corporation are 1,000 ft² →$150K - $300K in capital costs for one new housing unit in NWT

14. Utility Costs Utility costs = Electricity, fuel and water In NWT, utility costs are more than double the national average (for the average household) • Canada $2,100/yr • NWT $4,300/yr

15. Home Ownership Programs PATH • Forgivable Loans • $10K - $125K per household • To build or purchase • 100 households apply each year; half are approved

16. Home Ownership Programs (con’td) HELP • Rent-to-own; two-year lease • Pay off arrears and/or build up credit rating • Bring $10K in equity into new unit • New homes built by Housing Corp. • 200 households apply each year; half get it

17. Small-Repairs Programs • Roughly-half-a-dozen of these • One-time only approval • $11K-$30K per approved household • 30-40 approved households per year • Annual Funding CMHC: $495 K GNWT: $150K

18. Small-Repairs Programs (cont’d) CARE • Housing Corp’s Own Program • Forgivable Loans to renovate or upgrade home: $10K-$90K • 400-500 households apply each year • 60% are approved • $4 to $5 million per year (but $8 million in ‘09)

19. Public Housing • For low-income households • 2,250 units in the NWT • Gov’t pays capital and operating costs • $15K to $20K annually in operating costs →incl. fuel, power and water • $2 million/unit over a 50-year period

20. Arrears In Government-Assisted Ownership Sector • 460 outstanding mortgages • 80-90% of money owed in outstanding arrears “probably not collectible”

21. Arrears (cont’d) Public Housing Sector • LHOs collect rent • Some collect 100% of assessed rent. • Others collect very little. Two LHO Boards “have made a decision to not pursue people in arrears in any meaningful way.”

22. Arrears (cont’d) Public Housing Sector (cont’d) Collection Rates Average 90% During ECE Regime 77% →2006-2010

23. Housing as a %age of Budget • Average for all Can. provinces and territories 0.7% • Highest housing-spending prov. (Saskatchewan) 1.4% • NWT 5.1%

24. Housing Spending Per Capita • Average for all Can. prov’s and terr’s $61 • NWT $1,672 Ergo: NWT spends more than 25X more on housing (per capita) than a typical Canadian province

25. Recent Policy Initiatives Affordable Housing Initiative (2001 and 2003) • NWT Share $10.65 million • “344 units” • Absorbed into Housing Corp’s annual capital delivery budget

26. Recent Policy Initiatives (cont’d) 2005 Federal Budget Deal • $300 million for all three terr’s combined • NWT Share: $50 million →matched by GNWT Ergo: $100 million →450 “new units”

27. Recent Policy Initiatives (cont’d) 2005 Federal Budget Deal (cont’d) • All have been built • ½ were home ownership, ½ public housing • No net increase in number of units

28. Recent Policy Initiatives (cont’d) 2009 Federal Budget • $59 million for social housing in NWT • Matched by GNWT • 120 “new units” (public and ownership) • Some of this will go towards repairs and increased energy efficiency

29. Major Policy Challenge Declining Federal Funding • Expires completely in 2038 • Hits NWT harder than most parts of Canada due to: 1) NWT having lots of public units; and 2) NWT having very high utility costs • More cost effective to repair than rebuild

30. Policy Recommendation • Federal government should reinvest in housing. • Recent funding announcements have been one-off, short-term announcements. • It is time for the federal government to start making long-term commitments.

31. Dissemination • How Ottawa Spends • Plain Language Summaries • URL: www.homelesshub.ca/nwt

32. Dissemination (cont’d) • Coalition • Meeting with Minister • SERNNoCA Summit

33. Sponsors

34. Sponsors (cont’d)

35. Sponsors (cont’d) • McGill-Queen’s University Press • School of Public Policy and Administration (Carleton U.)

36. Sponsors (cont’d) • The Homeless Hub • Canadian Homelessness Research Network • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada • Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

37. Contact Info • Nick Falvo Carleton University E-mail: nfalvo@connect.carleton.ca • Arlene Haché Centre for Northern Families E-mail: arleneh10@hotmail.com